(Newser)
–
A knife found years ago at OJ Simpson's former property wasn't used by the former football star or anybody else to murder Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, the LAPD has determined. A variety of forensic tests were carried out on the blade, which retired LAPD officer George Maycott said he was given in 2003 by a construction worker who claimed to have found it while tearing down Brown's old estate years earlier, the AP reports. "We have confirmed, we have determined, there is no nexus," LAPD Capt. Andy Neiman told reporters. Police had already said that the knife appeared smaller than the one that killed Brown Simpson and Goldman, which is still missing, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Maycott's lawyer says his client, who gave the knife to investigators in February, has been "dragged through the village" for holding on to it for so long, even though he called the LAPD in 2003 and was told the case was over. "This is a retired police officer, a 70 year old man, who didn’t ask for this attention and did what he thought was the right thing back in 2003. And that was to call the LAPD and to let them know that he had a knife that was allegedly recovered on the property," the lawyer tells ABC. "And the fact that they chose not to act on that... can't be directed negatively towards him." Simpson, who is serving time in Nevada for robbery, was acquitted of the murders and can't be tried a second time, though he worried that the knife could affect his chances of being paroled next year. (Read more OJ Simpson stories.)